


my lonely heart beats relatively easy

by iwillbeyourgoal



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Grieving, M/M, Post-Canon, Talking To Dead People
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 21:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11814231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillbeyourgoal/pseuds/iwillbeyourgoal
Summary: kravitz helps magnus speak to julia, if only for a little bit.





	my lonely heart beats relatively easy

**Author's Note:**

> title from "relatively easy" by jason isbell

“Sweetheart, that was amazing,” Kravitz says, leaning back in his chair as he closes his eyes. “Good lord.”

Among a mess of dishes spread across a dining table, the reaper sits across from Magnus while Taako grins next to him. The couple is visiting Magnus in his relatively new home, a modest thing in the heart of a small village that desperately needed a sheriff, and as Taako refuses to let anyone else cook while he’s staying with them, he had just served his friends a four-course dinner.

“Yeah, man,” Magnus says, clapping the wizard on the back as he stands from the table to take everyone’s dishes. “You really outdid yourself this time.”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to be confident in your cooking when you find out you didn’t _actually_ poison 40 people, so,” Taako replies, doing the bare minimum to hide his pleasure at the compliments.

“Oh, let me help you, Magnus,” Kravitz says, rising as Magnus begins to pile the plates in the sink. “Taako’s wonderful at so many things, but post-meal cleanup isn’t one of them.”

Taako doesn’t even respond, just shrugs and smiles as Magnus laughs, and he starts regaling Kravitz with stories of living with the wizard, and try being around him for more than _a hundred years_.

The rest of the night passes jovially, with the three drinking wine and playing cards around Magnus’ fireplace as they relay stories and updates on their lives. Besides being the sheriff, Magnus has found some time to woodwork on the side, and the village residents have started to visit whenever they need a chair or night table or – of course – small wooden ducks. Taako and Kravitz are mostly traveling, scouting out locations for a tavern they’re thinking of opening.

The time comes for bed, and Magnus insists they stay in his room – he’s _fine_ in the living room, he’s got _plenty_ of blankets, _please_ take my room. They thank their friend and turn in, but not before he hugs the both of them as tightly as he can.

“It’s so good to see you guys,” he tells them seriously. “Stay as long as you need to.”

“Oh, come on,” Taako says, coming just short of rolling his eyes. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to. You’re stuck with this asshole, Burnsides.”

Both Magnus and Kravitz know this is just about the most affection you can get out of the wizard, and Magnus accepts it willingly, squeezes them once more and lets them go.

The couple turns in, and after his nightly grooming ritual, Taako passes out nearly as soon as he lies down. This always amuses Kravitz, as he knows the elf doesn’t necessarily _need_ to sleep, but has preferred to after travelling with humans for so long.

Though his tenure with the Raven Queen has never, he felt, deprived him of anything, he’s so glad he met Taako, Merle and Magnus. Loneliness doesn’t manifest itself until you’re exposed to the alternative, and now that his life is filled with friends and family, he knows he would never go back.

He’s thinking about these people he surrounds himself with – these wonderful, beautiful people – when he hears muffled speech through the door. Brow furrowed, he stands and moves closer as he puts an ear to the thick wood. It’s Magnus, but it doesn’t sound like there’s anyone else in the room.

The tendency for eavesdropping doesn’t usually overcome Kravitz, but he’s still incredibly curious, so he cracks the door open as silently as he can muster.

“–and we, uhm, we had this pasta with a sauce, but it was kind of thicker than normal? I think he used a cream base. It was _so_ good, you would’ve loved it.”

Curiosity is replaced by confusion as Kravitz unconsciously opens the door more and steps out so he can see Magnus.

The man, who was sitting in front of the fire, turns around, a little shaken, though he relaxes when he sees who it is.

“Oh. Kravitz, hey. You need the bathroom?”

“I – er, no. Thank you, though.”

Kravitz stands there for a moment, before managing, “I’m sorry to interrupt. Were you praying? I didn’t know you were religious.”

Magnus’s face falters a bit and he shakes his head. “Nah, I’m not. I was, ah, talking to someone.”

A memory flits through Kravitz’s mind – in the floating lab, the first time he met the three travelers.

_“Kravitz!” Magnus called after the reaper._

_“Yeah?” he replied, turning to face him._

_“Tell Julia I said I love her.”_

Julia. Julia. Taako had mentioned something about Magnus having someone in his life who died, but he hadn’t connected the dots.

“Julia,” he whispers out loud without realizing it.

Magnus winces a little, but nods. “Yeah. I try and, uhm… talk to her every night. Just to let her know what I’m up to.”

Kravitz deals in death. It’s his bread and butter, so to speak, and so usually he’d like to think he’s pretty immune to how it affects mortal beings. But here, face-to-face with someone who was so clearly impacted by a person who’d left this plane – how many _years_ ago was it? It’s a little more difficult than he’d like to admit.

He approaches the man and motions to the spot next to Magnus, and the man nods for him to sit.

“What was she like?” he finds himself asking.

Magnus laughs a little, but not derisively. “Oh, man,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, she was… everything to me. She was the best person I’ve ever met. She… she would always _try_ so hard with everything she did. She never let anyone else tell her what to believe, or how to be, and I was just so fucking lucky that she chose me.”

Kravitz doesn’t know how to respond, just swallows a lump that’s risen in his throat and nods.

“She asked me to marry her,” Magnus continued, smiling. “By that point I was so in love with her I was just about sick, and when she asked I just started blubbering and she had to put the ring away so she could calm me down.” He laughed. “She said I was going to flood the shop and warp all the wood with how much I was crying. And then I started laughing and that – that was what she did, you know? She was so good at turning everything around, turning bad things good and good things better.”

“She sounds wonderful,” Kravitz says thickly, and she does. She sounds like someone that death didn’t deserve to take.

“She was,” Magnus replies, absentmindedly spinning the ring on his left hand.

They’re silent for a bit, before Kravitz says, “Do you remember when you asked me to tell her you loved her?”

Confusion passes over Magnus’s face momentarily before realization dawns, and he nods, a bit fervently. “Did – did you?”

“I did.” Kravitz is careful here – there’s nothing more dangerous than someone faced with the hope of a loved one who can potentially return from the grave. There’s not really a way for that to happen – not legally, anyway – and he doesn’t want to get Magnus’s hopes too far up.

But.

“I… she was overjoyed,” he said earnestly. “She, er… she said hearing it from me was even better than hearing it from you. Because it meant you were, quote, ‘still kicking’ somewhere out there, and hadn’t made any decisions that were too foolhardy.”

Tears had begun streaming down Magnus’s face, but this tore a booming laugh out of him as he shook his head.

“Of _course_ that’s how she responded,” he said, his voice wobbling a little bit through his laughter. “Next time I see her, she’s getting it.”

And then Kravitz has what is potentially either a very good or very bad idea.

“Would you like to talk to her?” he asks.

Suddenly Magnus sits up a bit straighter, and the laughter has stopped. “What?”

“I mean, only for a little bit – say, maybe twenty or thirty minutes. This isn’t strictly legal, and it takes a lot out of me. And I… Magnus, I have to stress this: I can’t bring her back. Not in any permanent way. But this way, I could act as a conduit from here through to the Astral Plane and… you could speak with her.”

The look in Magnus’s eyes is unreadable, but only momentarily, and then he’s nodding furiously.

“Please, Kravitz. If you could do that, I – I don’t know how I’d be able to thank you.”

He nods and turns to face Magnus head-on. “I’m going to go into a meditative state, and try and find her. It might take a moment, but once I do, if she wants to talk – and I’m sure she will – you’ll be able to speak to her through me. Once it’s over, I might pass out. Just carry me to bed if I do, will you?”

“Of course.”

“Alright. I’m going to start now.”

Kravitz closes his eyes and begins to focus on reaching the Astral Plane. The warmth of the fire and the smell of Taako’s dinner and the house’s wooden interior fade away and are replaced by… not coldness, but nothing. Faces start to come in and out of focus – no, not you, or you, or you… _Where are you, Julia_?

And just like that, she snaps into focus in front of him. Regarding him a bit warily, she asks, “Yes? Can I help you?” Then, “Why are you all fuzzy like that?”

“Mrs. Burnsides, I’m here with your husband,” he says, and her eyes widen.

“What?”

“I’m here with Magnus. He’d like to speak with you for a bit, if you’re willing – ”

“Of course I am! How? How can I see him?”

“Okay, I’m going to touch you and you’re going to be in my body. You’re not going to be there, strictly speaking, but you will be able to see and talk with him,” Kravitz says gently. She nods furtively.

“Here it comes,” Kravitz says as he reaches a hand to grip her shoulder.

Suddenly Julia is sitting across from Magnus, and she claps a hand to her mouth as tears spring to her eyes.

“Did it – did it work?” Magnus asks, and she gasps back a sob.

“Oh, my God, Magnus,” she says as she throws her arms around him and buries her head in his shoulder. Her senses are somewhat dulled, but she can still smell his burnt-wood scent that’s never seemed to escape him.

“Julia?” he says, pulling her back. “You’re here?”

“Yes! God, I can’t believe it’s you. How am I – ”

“Ah, I’m kind of friends with the grim reaper,” Magnus says, a bit sheepishly, a hand rising to rub his nose as he sniffles. “He’s doing us a favor.”

“Oh, of course, why didn’t I guess?” she says, laughing a little. She starts to look around, taking in their surroundings. “Where are you?”

“Oh, this is my house!” he says excitedly, motioning around. “I just moved in a few months ago. I’m a sheriff now.”

“A sheriff? Just look at you. Sheriff Burnsides,” she teases, pushing a little against his chest where a star would go. “I can’t believe it.”

He blushes a bit. “Well, I’ve been up to a lot since… er, since Raven’s Roost.”

She softens, taking his hand. “You know, we heard about you. What you did. Even in the Astral Plane – do you know you saved the entire planersystem? So many people are alive because of you.”

Magnus has to blink away fresh tears, because how many _didn’t_ they save, but Julia wipes at the corners of his eyes.

“And, mister, if you think I didn’t go around telling everyone that _the_ Magnus Burnsides was my husband, then you’re wrong. That’s going to get me bragging rights for the rest of time, believe you me.”

And Magnus is smiling again, although a bit wistfully. “God, I miss you, Jules.”

She returns the smile and cups his face. “I miss you, too. Every day.”

He leans into it, closing his eyes, before she continues, “So, you said you’ve been up to a lot. I know you saved the world, but what else?”

Snorting, Magnus shakes his head. “I don’t know if I could even tell you everything, babe. There’s been so much. But, uhm, let’s see. I made all these friends, but they’re really more like family now, even though I know Taako wouldn’t – oh! Taako!”

She scrunches her nose and tilts her head. “Taako?”

“He’s here! Just in the other room, you’ve got to meet him!”

He stands, pulling her up. Rushing into his bedroom, he shakes his friend awake.

“For fuck’s sake, what – ” Taako grumbles, squinting at the two of them before straightening in bed. “Wait. What’d you do to my boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend?” Julia says, laughing as she looks between Taako and Magnus. “The grim reaper?”

“What’s going on?” Taako asks Magnus sternly, rising to his feet.

“Kravitz is helping me, he’s letting me talk to – Taako, this is Julia,” he says, motioning to her.

Taako blinks.

“You know, my – ”

“Your wife, I know,” the wizard says automatically, and if Magnus didn’t know better, he’d say he were almost in shock. “Well. I, uhm, I guess it’s nice to meet you?”

She smiles and stretches a hand out. “You too. I heard all about how you boys saved the world.”

Seemingly snapping out of his stupor, Taako shakes her hand. “Yeah, I mean, that’s kind of our thing.”

Julia laughs and nudges Magnus. “I like you. I bet you keep Magnus in check, don’t you? He needs it sometimes.”

“Don’t I know it,” Taako says, shaking his head. “Can’t live with this one without getting into some kind of trouble.”

“Speak for yourself,” Magnus retorts, and Julia squeezes his shoulder.

“Well, I guess I’ll let you two, erm… get back to catching up,” Taako says, a bit awkwardly. “Nice to meet you, Julia.”

“You too, Taako. You’ve got a good boyfriend.”

“He’s alright,” Taako says, shrugging as he climbs back into bed. “Night.”

“Night, Taako,” Magnus says, affection seeping through his words.

They shut the door and return to the living room.

“Well, I – I’m not sure how much time I have left,” Julia says, taking his hand and squeezing it. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to just… spend the rest of it hearing stories? So I can take them back with me.”

The thought of Julia going _back_ anywhere hits Magnus like a gut punch, but he nods. “Sure! Of course. Well, I’m glad you got to meet Taako. I wish Merle was here, but he’d probably make some dumb joke…”

Magnus spent the next ten or so minutes relaying different stories from their travels, telling her about his training with Carey, his relationship with Angus (she especially gets a kick out of that one), and anything else he can think of. She sits and listens to it all, nodding encouragingly and laughing as she learns even more about her husband. It all feels a little _normal_ , until she feels a bit of a sharp pressure in her chest.

“Oh – Magnus, I think – I think I’m almost done,” she says, looking at him with a slightly pained expression.

The spell of normalcy worn off, Magnus squeezes his eyes shut. “Okay, okay, okay. We knew this was gonna happen. It couldn’t have lasted forever.”

“Hey, hey,” Julia says, lifting his chin to look at her. “It’s okay! This isn’t _it_ , right? We’ll see each other again.”

Sniffling, Magnus nods. “I know.”

She smiles and runs her thumb over the scar running through his eyebrow that she knew so well. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Jules,” he says desperately, holding her hand to his face.

“Kiss me?” she asks, a smile playing at her lips as she tries to fight off tears. He obliges, and their lips meet.

“That was lovely,” she says, and suddenly gasps. Kravitz’s body shudders and, even though there’s no physical change, Magnus can tell she’s gone.

He takes a few deep breaths and looks to the man across from him with a tear-streaked face.

“How did it – ” he started, but before he could finish, Magnus pulls him into a forceful hug.

“Thank you, Kravitz,” he whispers. “So much.”

The reaper, not knowing exactly what to do, pats his friend on the back. “It was nothing,” he says, and means it.

They break apart and Magnus smiles, with a hint of sadness. “Well, that was… a lot. I think I’m going to turn in for the night,” he says, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

“Of course,” Kravitz replies, understanding. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sure thing.”

He returns to the bedroom, and this time Taako is waiting up. “Are you really you this time?” he says lightly. Kravitz laughs and starts undressing.

“I am,” he says.

“Good. Because, clearly, I’m okay with dating dead things, but Julia’s kind of Magnus’s deal, and I don’t know how I’d deal with sharing a bed with her.”

Chuckling, Kravitz gets into the bed but says nothing.

Quiet pervades for a few moments before Taako says, “Hey, babe. I know that really meant a lot to Magnus. Thanks for doing it. Really.”

Turning to face his boyfriend, Kravitz smiles. “I just thought about how I felt when I thought I’d lost you. It wasn’t anything, really.”

Taako doesn’t reply, just scoots closer to Kravitz and wraps his arms around him. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> magnus and julia break my heart!!! i had to do it ok!!!!!!


End file.
